Advocating for change

terms of service are complicated, confusing and severely restricting, yet unlike any other employment, breaching them can lead to a criminal conviction

the system for registering a conscientious objection is opaque and little information about it is available to serving personnel

those in the armed forces are excluded from much human rights legislation. They are not allowed to form a union, speak in public or join political organisations

Our current focus is campaigning to raise the age of armed forces recruitment to 18 years old in line with international standards.

Scroll down further for more about our campaigning work in these areas.

Campaigning to raise the minimum age of recruitment to 18 years

The minimum age for enlisting in the UK armed forces is 16. The UK is the only country in Europe and the only country on the UN Security Council to recruit 16 year olds into its armed forces and is one of fewer than 20 countries in the world which recruit from the age of 16 years. Those who sign on when 16 or 17 must serve until they are 22.

The recruitment of minors has been criticised by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, Parliament’s own Joint Committee on Human Rights and a number of charities. Phasing out recruitment of under-18s would bring the UK into line with international human rights standards. It would provide greater protection for the rights of young people and it would mean that adults could not be held to commitments made as minors. See more on concerns about recruiting under 18s

CAMPAIGN UPDATE: October 2013: as part of the Government response to the Defence Committee's report, The Armed Forces Covenant in Action? Part 4: Education of Service Personnel, the Government have agreed 'that the Armed Forces should undertake a cost-benefit analysis of the recruitment of U18s and work has been set in hand with the Army to look at this.' This is a significant step forward and ForcesWatch will be urging the Government to consider all the costs, not just the financial, particularly those borne by individual recruits, when reviewing the issue.

See more of our campaign work on raising the age of recruitment below

Campaigning to increase awareness about conscientious objection

Life in the armed forces can have a significant effect on the outlook and attitudes of those who undertake it. Exposure to warfare can radically alter a person’s values and beliefs.

The armed forces recognise the right of serving personnel to be discharged if they develop a conscientious objection. But this right is not set out clearly in legislation, is not mentioned in the terms of service and many, perhaps most, forces personnel are unaware of it. The system for registering a conscientious objection is opaque and little information about it is easily available. Legislation that fully upholds the right to conscientious objection and makes its procedures accessible and transparent should be passed.

Campaigning to improve terms and conditions of service within the armed forces

Employment in the armed forces is unique in placing severe restrictions on rights and freedoms that are available to the rest of the UK population. The armed forces are also the only employers in the UK who legally require their employees to commit themselves for several years, with the risk of a criminal conviction if they try to leave sooner.

This situation is all the more worrying given that the majority of recruits are very young. There is also evidence that many personnel are unclear about the length of their commitment and their rights to leave and that the information they receive can be misleading.

CAMPAIGN UPDATE: On 19 June 2011, the government announced that it would give teenage soldiers the right to leave the armed forces up until age 18 if they are unhappy. With other organisations, ForcesWatch has been campaigning for under-18s to have the right to leave the forces, and we welcome this development - see more. This is a significant improvement on the current situation which gives under 18s the right to leave only between the 2nd and 6th month of service. Additionally, the legislation allows for a possible reduction in the notice period of 12 months for those aged over 18. These changes came into force in July 2011 - read more here. We will continue to monitor whether recruits are made aware of these new rights.

recent campaigning news & resources

Army Recruitment: Comparative cost-effectiveness of recruiting from age 16 versus age 18

September 2014

This paper, published by ForcesWatch and Child Soldiers International, shows that the taxpayer would save approximately £50 million per annum if the minimum age of recruitment were raised to 18; it would also result in the army needing to find about 211 fewer new recruits annually, based on current numbers joining the trained strength.

The paper concludes that the case to cease recruiting from age 16 is now overwhelming and urges a full, independent review of the policy, with a view to phasing out the recruitment of minors as an unnecessary, cost-ineffective, and fundamentally unethical practice.

Defence Committee report challenges the MoD (again) to produce a 'robust and thorough' review of under 18 recruitment

6 March 2014: The Defence Select Committee have today released their report of inquiry into the MoD's Future Army 2020 plan. Amid the concerns about the strategy of increasing the proportion of reservists in relation to regular forces, the report calls on the MoD “to respond in detail to the argument that the Army could phase out the recruitment of minors without detriment to the Army 2020 plans”. Read our submission to the inquiry here.

Raising the age of recruitment: an open letter and a cautious welcome of the MoD review

8 November 2013: ForcesWatch are among 24 signatories of an open letter to Mark Francois MP, Minister of State for the Armed Forces which calls for an end to the recruitment of under-18s.. The signatories include the Church of Scotland, the Church in Wales, the Unitarian Church and Catholic, Baptist, Methodist and Quaker groups and Child Soldiers International. The letter notes that as the centenary of the outbreak of World War One approaches, the recruitment and deployment age of British soldiers is lower now than it was a century ago. The signatories call on the Ministry to raise the recruitment age to 18 as a “fitting memorial” to the thousands of young soldiers killed in World War One.

ForcesWatch submission to Defence Select Committee inquiry on Military Casualties

The continued targeted recruitment of minors from disadvantaged backgrounds deserves to be re-appraised from the perspective of long-term mental health risks that this group faces.

Where possible, we hope that the development of military health research will better specify personnel who face higher and lower risks.

Future research could also better account for personnel who show some symptoms of mental ill-health but are not counted as full ‘cases’ of a specific ‘disorder’.

A large number of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are likely to need mental health support services for years to come. It falls to the state to take prime responsibility for ensuring that the long-term welfare needs of injured veterans are met. That is an expensive undertaking, which it behoves any government to appreciate and accept before deciding whether to send young men and women to war

The Last Ambush? Aspects of mental health in the British armed forces

28 October 2013

This report from ForcesWatch, shows that young soldiers recruited from disadvantaged backgrounds are substantially more likely than other troops to return from war experiencing problems with their mental health. It calls for the policy of recruiting from age 16 to be reviewed so that the greatest burden of risk is not left to the youngest, most vulnerable recruits to shoulder.

This paper, published by ForcesWatch and Child Soldiers International, indicates that the risk of fatality in Afghanistan for British Army recruits aged 16 and completed training has been twice as high as it has for those enlisting at 18 or above. This increased risk reflects the disproportionately high number of 16 year olds who join front-line Infantry roles. This is mainly the result of recruitment policies which drive the youngest recruits into the Army’s most dangerous roles.

ForcesWatch's submission to the Defence Committee's inquiry Future Army 2020, which recomments an evaluation of the case for an independent review of the minimum age of recruitment into the Army with a view to recruiting only adults (aged 18 and above) in the future, looking at five reasons why the time is right for this.

One Step Forward: The case for ending recruitment of minors by the British armed forces

April 2013

This report published by Child Soldiers International and ForcesWatch outlines the numerous ethical and legal concerns related to rhe recruitment of under-18s, including the disproportionately high level of risk they face and long-term consequences for their employability, as well as detailing how much more it costs than recruiting only adults.

The minimum recruitment age for the British armed forces – 16 years – is one of the lowest in the world. The Ministry of Defence has traditionally justified recruiting from this age group by asserting that 16 years reflects the minimum statutory school leaving age.

This report concludes that the impact of recruitment below the age of 18 opens up a number of gaps that have long term significance, not only for the armed forces but also for the young people that they recruit. At a time of considerable downsizing of the army in particular, the large gap between the cost of training minors (who cannot be deployed operationally) and adults (who can) is difficult to sustain. But perhaps the most significant cost is in the detrimental impact that the gaps identified have on the future prospects of minors recruited by our armed forces.

This report, published by the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, "challenges the status quo currently surrounding the situation of young people in the UK armed forces today. It questions the ethics and legality of the restrictions on young recruits’ rights of discharge, their minimum period of service, and their exposure to the risk of hostilities. The report also makes the case for a considered review and debate on the minimum recruitment age. It highlights the evidence that not only is the experience of recruits in the 16 – 18 age bracket adversely affected by their relative lack of maturity, but that their high drop-out rate results in millions of pounds in wasted expenditure."

Public support rise in army recruitment age

October 2014

A nationwide poll conducted in July 2014 by Ipsos MORI on behalf of the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust Ltd found that 78 per cent of respondents who expressed a view thought the minimum enlistment age for the Army should be 18 or above. Just 14 per cent of respondents thought the minimum age should be 16 (as it currently is) or less.

An identically worded poll conducted in April 2013 by ICM found 70 per cent of respondents who expressed a view thought the minimum enlistment age should be 18 or above, with 20 per cent supporting 16 or younger.

Campaigners lodge claim for judicial review of “Catch-22” rules, which force youngest recruits to serve for longest. New poll: public support for raising armed forces’ enlistment age to 18 continues to grow.

Amid ongoing controversy around the MoD’s struggling recruitment campaigns for the armed forces, figures published this week reveal that the Army has resorted to increasing numbers of 16-year-olds in an attempt to fix the recruitment shortfall.

"We call for the minimum recruitment age to be returned to 18 years. This would be a fitting memorial to those thousands who, whether unlawfully recruited as minors during the First World War or recruited to fight in other conflicts, were exposed to death, injury and trauma that no child should ever experience."

The Military in Society

ForcesWatch observe and respond to ways in which the military is being promoted as a normal part of everyday life. We believe that uncritical support for the armed forces stifles concerns about how young people are recruited and limits debate on alternatives to war.

The military are being promoted as a solution to social problems. For example, the Department for Education are promoting 'military skills and ethos' in national education policy as a response to the crisis they perceive in education. The armed forces already make thousands of visits to schools and colleges in the UK. Are military-led activities and a military approach appropriate within education? What about aspects of military ethos which are different to the values of education around issues of critical thinking and obedience, for example? Is the operation of the chain of command, such as within school-based cadet forces, appropriate within an educational setting?

The military are increasingly visible at public events such as the 2012 Olympics. The armed forces were involved in the event in many ways, from security to attendance at ceremonies. Is the presence of armed security and missiles on rooftops the future for public events? How does this determine the acceptable level of arms and armed forces seen in our public spaces?

In recent years, the act of remembrance has taken on a celebratory dimension. Remembrance of those who have suffered in war has been made inseparable from supporting the armed forces and military activities in current conflicts. A number of veterans have expressed concern that the poppy is becoming politicised on the one hand and increasingly like show business on the other.

Many other ways in which the military is being promoted in everyday life can be traced back to the 2008 Report of Inquiry into the National Recognition of the Armed Forces. This report recommended 40 measures for 'increasing visibility', 'improving contact', 'building understanding' and 'encouraging support' for the armed forces. Measures include more support for homecoming parades; more involvement of the armed forces in schools and the expansion of the cadet forces; and, the establishment of Armed Forces Day.

More recent policy related to the Military Covenant, which "recognises that the whole nation, has a moral obligation to members of the armed forces and their families", is institutionalising the armed forces yet further into civilian life. The Armed Forces Community Covenant is a kind of contract or partnership between local communities and their armed forces "to support the service community in their area and promote understanding and awareness among the public of issues affecting the armed forces community". Almost every single local authority in the UK has signed a covenant and £5 million of central government funding had been given for promotion and grants to local initiatives, including those in schools and play activities. Local authorities are organising or taking part in celebrations of the armed forces which go much further than "promoting understanding and awareness" in order to remove disadvantage in access to services expereinces by the armed forces.

The Armed Forces Corporate Covenant has been signed by businesses and charities and organisations representing industry that "wish to demonstrate their concrete support for the armed forces community". One aim is to supply the large number of new reserve personnel necessary under the Future Reserves policy. This is also resulting in an increase in recruitment activity in community spaces, job centres and the workplace.

As the armed forces become embedded further into civilian life and their needs prioritised, what is the impact of these policies on public life in the UK? Are we creating a society in which it will become very difficult for young people to develop a critical awareness about military issues? Will they have the awareness they need to make an informed decisions about joining up? Will alternatives to war look less feasible? How will this affect them and wider society as a whole?

At a comfortable distance from warfare, our culture easily passes over its horrific reality in favour of an appealing, even romantic, spectacle of war. Militarism, past and present, attempts to control public opinion by aligning it with its own worldview. In his new book, Spectacle, Reality, Resistance: Confronting a culture of militarism, David Gee takes a fresh look at a culture of militarism in Britain, exploring these dynamics – distance, romance, control – in three essays, accompanied by three shorter pieces about the cultural treatment of war and resistance to the government's increasingly prodigious efforts to regain control of the story we tell ourselves about war.

War and peace

On this day 100 years ago, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo in an action that led to the First World War. Unchecked militarism in Europe was also a major factor.

Today is also Armed Forces Day, one of the clearest indications of the re-militarisation of British society. Established in 2009 to increase public support for the forces, there are over 200 public events, many billed as 'family fun days'.

This week also saw Uniform to Work Day promoting the reserve forces and 'Camo Day' in schools. Behind this PR offensive is a raft of policy that is embedding 'public support' for the military within our civilian institutions - from the promotion of 'military ethos' in schools, to the Armed Forces Community Covenant and Corporate Covenant that aim to enlist every local authority and major business to support the armed forces and aid recruitment.

Over 453 UK service personnel have died in Afghanistan; 34 were just 18 or 19 years old. Thousands more have to cope with long-term physical and mental problems.

With so many military casualties - not to mention uncounted numbers of civilians deaths - and new security threats that waging war has created, surely it is time to reflect on the longer-term impact of our military culture and to ask what steps we might take to prevent war itself.

Militarism has existed in the Britain for a long time, but there is a new tide of militarisation that has developed over the last five years. This briefing from Quaker Peace and Social Witness examines government reports, and reveals the government strategy to increase public support for the military, in order to raise the willingness of the public to pay for the military, make recruitment easier, and stifle opposition to unpopular wars.

The Poppy

David Gee, ForcesWatch, 07/11/2013

When I was about seven, my dad took me to the local Remembrance Day memorial. Neatly turned-out elderly men were stood in equally neat rows while The Last Post was played. I wondered why everyone looked so sad. Dad said it was because their friends had been killed in the war; this day was to remember them. I wore a poppy then and I am glad that I did.

This event, held in London in 2013, brought together academics, writers, activists and campaigners who are researching, writing, campaigning on, or just concerned about the implications of the militarisation of everyday life in the UK.

Many areas of society in the UK have seen a growing involvement and/or visibility of the military over recent years - from the growing influence of the military and military approaches in schools, to greater presence and privileging of the military in local communities. In response, there has been a corresponding increase in academic studies, media coverage, and work by campaigning organisations and others on this.

In Globalisation and Militarism, Cynthia Enloe, one of the foremost thinkers and writers in this area, states that, ‘To become militarized is to adopt militaristic values and priorities as one's own, to see military solutions as particularly effective, to see the world as a dangerous place best approached with militaristic attitudes.’ This event explores the process and outcomes of militarisation, focusing on recent developments in the UK and how it is experienced in the everyday life of individuals and communities.

A letter from veterans of a number of conflicts about the the Poppy Appeal and the idea of 'heroism' that it promotes was published in The Guardian and The Independent.

The Poppy Appeal is once again subverting Armistice Day. A day that should be about peace and remembrance is turned into a month-long drum roll of support for current wars. This year's campaign has been launched with showbiz hype. The true horror and futility of war is forgotten and ignored.

The public are being urged to wear a poppy in support of "our Heroes". There is nothing heroic about being blown up in a vehicle. There is nothing heroic about being shot in an ambush and there is nothing heroic about fighting in an unnecessary conflict.

At a comfortable distance from warfare, our culture easily passes over its horrific reality in favour of an appealing, even romantic, spectacle of war. Yet, over the last decade, most Britons have opposed Western military ventures abroad. This book takes a fresh look at a culture of militarism in Britain, public resistance to it, and the government's increasingly prodigious efforts to regain control of the story we tell ourselves about war.

Film launch and public meeting

Why does the military have a 'youth engagement' policy and why is the government promoting 'military ethos' within education? What is the impact of military activities taking place in schools? This short film which explores these questions and gives teenagers the opportunity to voice their reaction to the military’s interest in their lives.

news items relating to these issues

A 'Character Building' series of armed forces toys licensed by the MoD is discredited by the new Veterans for Peace UK short film on some of the things that these toys don't show, and by developments in 'character education' that indicate there is no need for 'military ethos' initiatives in UK schools.

Towns and cities across the UK will today be 'celebrating' Armed Forces Day. Many councils hold these events as signatories to the Armed Forces Community Covenant; almost every local authority has now pledged support to the armed forces in perpetuity, and hundreds of businesses, charities, and even schools have signed the Armed Forces Corporate Covenant.

Many of today's events are packaged as 'family fun' with military vehicles and weaponry to entice young people, and cadet and armed forces careers marketing to recruit them. War is not family entertainment. The school assembly packs on offer from the Ministry of Defence display a breath-taking economy with the truth about the purpose and consequences of military action.

A year ago we wrote how Armed Forces Day symbolises the creep of militarism into our civil institutions. Far from being merely a reflection of public respect, this creep is the result of a concerted effort, which can be tracked through policy initiatives and is fuelled by concern that the military are losing control of the public narrative around defence. We noted how these public displays, which are ostensibly about supporting 'the men and women who make up the Armed Forces', (including Camo Day, Reserves Day and the Poppy Appeal), act to market the military as an institution and to build a positive and uncritical narrative around it and support its recruitment needs.

A year, and another Armed Forces Day, later, we look here at how militarism continues to creep into schools and colleges and how recent developments further embed military approaches and interests within the education system.

The DfE's recent communication to schools about the 70th anniversary of VE Day on 8 May suggests that schools 'will want to celebrate and commemorate' the event. This is the third set of learning materials promoted by the DfE within the past year around military issues. Do 'celebrations' around remembrance events inevitably drown out the more cautious messages about the price of victory?

Videos from 6 May 'Challenging the Militarisation of Youth in Scotland' event, featuring Owen Everett, ForcesWatch Education Worker, speaking on armed forces visits to schools in Scotland; Ben Griffin from Veterans for Peace UK on recruitment and the militarisation of youth; and Lesley Orr from Glasgow University on the centenary of the women's peace conference at The Hague.

Here we provide two sample questions that you can ask candidates as well as key points and further sources of information. You can find your candidates contact details using https://yournextmp.com/. Let us know if you get any responses!

Do you agree that the UK should raise its age of recruitment to 18 in line with the international human rights standards established by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child?

Is the promotion of the armed forces and 'military ethos' appropriate within education? Should parents be consulted about the involvement of the military at their school?

Military Out Of Schools

Our Military Out Of Schools campaign aims to take the argument that educational institutions are no place for the military into the public arena and to question assumptions that military 'engagement' with children and young adults is benign.

We provide written and audio-visual information and workshop materials which explore the issues and concerns, to facilitate debate. We also support those who wish to go a step further and call for an complete end to the military's influence in schools or colleges.

Are military-led activities and military approaches appropriate within the education system? What about aspects of the 'military ethos' which are very different to the values of education, such as unquestioning obedience to 'superiors' rather than critical thinking? To what extent is this policy driven by militarism - the systematic promotion of the military and military approaches? We recognise that armed forces-related activities in schools can provide exciting and beneficial experiences, but we believe that there are alternative, non-military organisations and approaches that can have the same positive results, without the agendas of recruitment (with all the risks and downsides this brings) and deliberately giving students a positive impression of the armed forces.

Can military-led activities within schools and colleges, which aim to promote the armed forces and a 'military ethos', give students a balanced point of view? The Ministry of Defence have claimed that their schools engagement is not about recruiting young people into the armed forces, but this is based on the very narrow definition of 'recruitment', where it literally means signing up then and there on school premises (which would be impossible for the majority of students, who are minors, as they would need parental/guardian permission). The MoD note in numerous publications that, in terms of students signing up in the days, weeks, and years afterwards, visits to schools and colleges are a 'powerful tool for facilitating recruitment'. They also state that their engagement with schools is an important way to 'provide positive information to influence future opinion-formers' (see our briefing on military activity in UK schools). We argue that visits to schools are themselves recruitment activities. In coming into contact with young people, the military aim to sow seeds in impressionable young minds. In 2007, the head of the Army’s recruitment strategy said “Our new model is about raising awareness, and that takes a ten-year span. It starts with a seven-year-old boy seeing a parachutist at an air show and thinking, 'That looks great.' From then the army is trying to build interest by drip, drip, drip." Some of the research that informed the Military Ethos in Schools policy notes the advantages to both armed forces reserves recruitment, and finding employment for military veterans. ForcesWatch believe that the best interests of young people are often different from the best interests of the military. If we do not provide a challenge to the military's engagement with our children, we are failing them. At minimum, schools and colleges should be ensuring that there is balanced debate, and should require parent/guardian consent for students to take part in an armed forces visit/trip, and to join the CCF, so as to acknowledge the controversial nature of these activities.

Different stances of schools: as mentioned above, schools have a range of stances on military influence. For example, Bro Myrddin Welsh Comprehensive School has for many years banned the armed forces from visiting or providing any resources (although in the rare cases where a pupil wants to join the armed forces, the Careers Wales Officer based at the school helps them get relevant information). Similarly, Trinity Catholic School in Leamington Spa do not have visits from the armed forces or a Combined Cadet Force; their head teacher Chris Gabbett opposes the Military Ethos in Schools programme ('I would suggest that channelling the same funding to improve numeracy and cultural and functional literacy for their younger siblings may have a greater chance of breaking the cycle of poverty, without promoting a military ethos... I think to maintain a local, school based [Combined Cadet] force is anathema to promoting a message of peace') and the recruitment of 16 and 17 year-olds into the armed forces. However, Trinity do allow community cadet units to give assemblies, as part of a rounded education, allowing students to decide whether they want to join or not. A school with a 'neutral' stance is St Teilo's in Cardiff, which does not have a relationship with the armed forces and does permit armed forces visits. Some schools integrate critical thinking on the military’s youth engagement into the curriculum, by inviting an organisation like ForcesWatch or Veterans for Peace UK in to facilitate a workshop, or by creating their own teaching units on the issue, such as the ‘Young people in the military’ unit taken by a year 9 class in one inner-London academy.

In numerous cases students have taken it upon themselves to challenge the influence of the military in their schools: Members of School Students Against War did leafleting and other forms of protest to highlight and oppose military influence in schools in England and Scotland in 2007-8. More recently, in 2012 two students at Heaton Manor School in Newcastle organised pressure from students and parents after the school set up a cadet force, to which badly-behaved students were sent during lessons on Thursdays. The school promised a consultation, but this never happened. In 2013 students at a school in London didn’t cooperate with Army Reservists running a ‘team-building’ day because they felt that the presentation of the Army Reserve was too one-sided and the Reservists packed up and left at lunchtime. Other students have only cooperated on their terms, such as Emma, who went to a private school for sixth form, where, in order to do A-Level PE she had to join the cadet force; uncomfortable with shooting at human targets and video footage of real people, she instead fired old wooden rifles at non-human targets, and she refused to salute during marching drill. There are also numerous cases of parents/guardians challenging the military's influence at their children's schools, for example at this state primary school.

If you or someone you know have challenged the military's influence in the education system, or if you have any questions or comments, or would like to request a workshop or talk for your school, college, university, or group, please get in touch with us at education@forceswatch.net / 020 7837 2822.

The armed forces make around 11,000 visits to secondary schools and colleges schools in the UK each year, and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) spends around £26 million each year on school Combined Cadet Force (CCF) units, both of which have a strong recruitment agenda behind them, contrary to the repeated denials of this in recent years by the MoD.

This briefing is a compilation of evidence that contradicts the MoD and armed forces' claims that they don’t recruit in schools and that 'engaging' with students does not have a recruitment purpose.

"The army careers advisers who operate in schools are skilled salesmen." Head of Army recruitment strategy, quoted in New Statesman, 2007

The armed forces have a growing involvement in secondary schools, colleges and even primary schools. While the Army, Navy and RAF have long run activities in schools as part of the Ministry of Defence's Youth Engagement programme, the Department for Education have recently begun to promote a 'military ethos' within education.

This A4 leaflet (updated 2015) outlines the issue and what the concerns are.

This report explains why the British Armed Forces Learning Resource (published in September 2014 by the Prime Minister's Office) is a poor quality educational resource, and exposes the resource as a politically-driven attempt to promote recruitment into the armed forces and “military values” in schools.

The report, compiled by ForcesWatch, is based on figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act from the armed forces on their visits to Scottish schools. It has been co-sponsored by the Educational Institute of Scotland which has expressed concerns that some armed forces visits may have a recruitment purpose.

The report discusses the aims of the Ministry of Defence and the armed forces’ ‘youth engagement’ programme and concludes that: “Despite assurances by the Ministry of Defence and the three armed services that the armed forces do not recruit in schools, it is evident that many of the activities provided by members of the armed forces in schools are recruitment-related and the recruitment potential of visits is a key purpose of many, if not most, of their visits to schools.”

Why does the military have a 'youth engagement' policy and why is the government promoting 'military ethos' within education? What is the impact of military activities taking place in schools? ForcesWatch have been working with the charity Headliners and a group of young people in London to produce this short film which explores these questions and gives teenagers the opportunity to voice their reaction to the military’s interest in their lives.

The film focuses on military activities in schools, including presentations and other visits by the armed forces and the Department for Education's 'Military Ethos in Schools' policy - as well as community cadet forces. It looks at young people's experiences and views and ask questions about the agenda behind the 'youth engagement' policy and the reluctance of the Department for Education and Ministry of Defence to discuss it with young people themselves.

This film will encourage young people to reflect on and debate military-related activities aimed at them.

This ForcesWatch briefing outlines the methods and rationale of the military's engagement with young people within the education system and highlights potential developments in this area, including projects under consideration or development by the Armed Forces and the Department of Education.

Up and down the country on the 30th June street parties, picnics and military tattoos are taking place for Armed Forces Day. Despite the rhetoric of tradition, the day is relatively new to Britain's military history, with the first occurrence taking place in 2009, replacing Veterans' Day, which ran from 2006-2009.

Some see the institution of another national occasion relating to the Armed Forces (i.e. in addition to Remembrance Day) as indicative of a growing culture of militarisation across the country. After consultation with parents, teachers and students who are concerned with the unquestioning attitude of acceptance towards the military and their activities in the public sphere, ForcesWatch has produced the following lesson plans and activities for those working in schools and other youth organisations to use, free of charge, with their students or group members. This is a direct response to the materials produced by the Armed Forces for teachers.

other resources on military in schools

The Unseen March - short film made by Quakers in Britain with former SAS Ben Griffin, activist Mark Thomas and educationalists on ‘military ethos’ in schools.

Step by step, a military presence is entering schools across Britain. This is part of a conscious strategy to increase support for the armed forces in the wake of unpopular wars. Quakers in Britain have produced The Unseen March, a short film to start a public debate about the militarisation of education.

There are also briefings, resources and action ideas to accompany the film

Military recruitment is deeply embedded in the class and economic structures of society. Its methods, thriving on hyper-masculine fantasies of soldiering and, in consumer-capitalist societies in particular, a creeping estrangement from our most humane values, can be understood as a form of human alienation. Even so, despite the continuing success of military recruitment worldwide, it is still perhaps the Achilles heel of militarism. War depends on large numbers of people agreeing to participate in mass killing. If we can work well with young people, their parents, educators and the media, so that equally large numbers pause to reflect on what soldiers are expected to do and why, cracks might open in militarism from the bottom up.

The armed forces are increasingly being provided with access to young people within the UK education system – mainly at secondary and further education level but also within universities and even primary schools. In addition to armed forces presentations and other visits to schools and colleges which have been going on for many years, there is a new push to make 'military ethos and skills' a part of school life.

To understand what is driving these practices and policies it is important to look at the wider dynamics between the armed forces and civil society. This article looks briefly at recent initiatives and developments that reflect a new and concerted effort to see the military play a larger role in civil society.

This research published in 2010 has found that the army visited 40% of London schools from September 2008 to April 2009 and disproportionately visits schools in the most disadvantaged areas. The researchers conclude that, “the army's recruitment activities in schools risk jeopardising the rights and future welfare of the young people contacted.

Before You Sign Up has a useful page on Recruiting in schools and colleges. This website also has a lesson plan devised for Citizenship Key Stage 4. The learning outcomes are: an outline understanding of life as a soldier, including the pros and cons; understand and speak about ethical issues involved in recruiting young people from age 16 into the armed forces; ability to deconstruct a TV advertisement; and, bring critical awareness to an important social issue.

military & education discussion list

Watch our new film - Engage: the military and young people

Why does the military have a 'youth engagement' policy and why is the government promoting 'military ethos' within education? What is the impact of military activities taking place in schools? This short film which explores these questions and gives teenagers the opportunity to voice their reaction to the military’s interest in their lives.

relevant on YouTube

Militarisation in everyday life in the UKAn event in October 2013 which brought together academics, writers, activists and campaigners who are researching, writing, campaigning on the implications of militarisation of UK society. See more here including background reading and films of presentations.

One way of challenging the problematic further incursion of the military in the UK education system is to start a debate about it in your local paper, and by writing to your MP, as Roger Bartrum from the Isle of Wight has done.

The Academies Enterprise Trust, the largest multi-sponsor of academies in the UK, has signed an Armed Forces Corporate Covenant, committing it to supporting: Military Ethos in Schools initiatives, teachers being in the Reserves, and Armed Forces Day. This represents a major shift.

In a new film from the Quakers, comedian Mark Thomas and former MP Clare Short claim the Government is misusing the education system to encourage support for its wars and to promote careers in the armed forces.

In addition to placing a soldier on each school coach visiting the First World War battlefields (as part of the government’s flagship Centenary initiative to have at least two students from every school in the country visit them), the Army have launched their own First World War teaching resources for schools, and are offering to send soldiers to schools to ‘support teaching activities’.

Despite developments in character education that suggest there is no need for military ethos initiatives, and further questions around the rigour of evaluations supposedly justifying further funding of military ethos schemes, several such schemes have recently received funding...

'The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been blocked from obtaining highly sensitive personal data about school and college students, which had ostensibly been sought in order to help “target its messaging” around military careers...'